Herb of the Month: Rou Gui 'Cinnamon Bark'

Chinese: Rou Gui

English: Cinnamon bark

🔥Category: warm interior, expel cold
🌎 Meridians: kidney, heart, liver, spleen
👅 Taste: spicy, sweet
🌶 Temperature: hot

💪🏽 Functions:

• Fortifies Kidney and Spleen Yang warms the heart yang and fortifies the yang.

• Disperses deep cold, warms the channels, unblock the channels and vessels, and alleviates pain.

• Leads fire back to its source

• Encourages the generation of Qi and blood.

💊Pharmacology:

• Analgesic

• Antibacterial

• Antiplatelet

• Antiulcer

• Hematopoietic (white blood cells)

• Radiation (protective effect)

Cinnamon, an ancient and aromatic herb from the bark of small evergreen tree.

Rou Gui is a powerful very useful herb especially in the winter season as it's general function is guiding to the Kidney's and in Chinese medicine, every organ has a season related to it, the winter is Kidney time. Rou Gui is a food-grade herb that you can employ yourself to greatly benefit your health. (Cinnamon sold at the store is not necessarily a medicinal-grade, come by clinic to get yours or try to get Chinese variety of cinnamon)

Rou Gui can help control blood sugar making it useful in the management of diabetes and sugar metabolism, the spice also has antibacterial activity and is good for wheezing. It is good for treating poor circulation or always feeling cold.

In traditional Chinese medicine cinnamon is considered pungent, sweet, and hot, warming and strengthening the Kidney yang and affecting the Heart, Kidneys, Liver, and Spleen channels. It is used to increase vitality and to treat some types of abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, reduced appetite, diarrhea, and treats pain.